As the year-end holiday season approaches, industrial facilities face unique safety challenges, and strong fire and gas detection systems are critical to maintaining a safe, compliant workplace. A proactive, multi-layered detection strategy not only supports safety during colder temperatures and reduced staffing, it also helps ensure reliable hazard monitoring throughout year-end operations and into the New Year.

In water and wastewater operations, knowing exactly what’s happening inside your tanks, wells, and channels is critical. Level measurement ensures pumps run efficiently, tanks don’t overflow, and solids are processed safely, all while helping you meet strict environmental regulations.

At TechStar, we work alongside operators and engineers to design level measurement systems that deliver dependable performance in the toughest conditions. From clean water tanks to sludge thickeners, we provide solutions built for accuracy, integration, and long-term reliability.

Accurate flow measurement is foundational to operational excellence, especially in separator systems. Whether you’re dealing with gas, water, or multi-phase streams, reliable data drives production performance, environmental compliance, and cost control. That’s why we’re excited to showcase the latest insights from Fox Thermal in the newly released “Separator Application Optimizer.”

In the evolving landscape of water treatment, operational efficiency and reliability are paramount. The Onondaga County Water Authority (OCWA) in New York serves as a prime example of how modernizing control systems can lead to significant improvements.

We’re excited to announce the release of the new Application Optimizer for Clinker Coolers, a document designed to help cement manufacturers optimize their clinker cooler operations through precise airflow measurement. This Application Optimizer maps out key airflow measurement points across the clinker cooler system, offering actionable insights to improve cooling efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and enhance clinker quality.

With MSA’s TruCal® technology, available on XCell® hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and carbon monoxide (CO) gas sensors, you get a smarter, more proactive approach to gas detection. TruCal helps monitor sensor health automatically, so you don’t have to wait until the next scheduled calibration to find out something’s wrong. Whether you’re running critical infrastructure or a high-demand industrial facility, TruCal helps give you added peace of mind, right where it counts: between calibrations.

At TechStar, solving process challenges goes beyond instrumentation, it means delivering complete, integrated automation solutions. With years of experience designing and implementing custom systems, our team brings advanced automation to every corner of industry, helping you operate smarter, safer, and more efficiently.

Here’s how different industries are optimizing their operations through custom automation:

A major gas processing plant faced operational inefficiencies due to the need for manual level measurement in their sewage water drain collection pit. The plant required personnel to manually check the pit level and then, depending on the present level in the pit, call a collecting vehicle to drain the sump, leading to delays, inefficiencies, and safety concerns. To enhance automation and remote monitoring, the customer sought a continuous, non-contact radar solution to eliminate human error and improve response time.

Flame detectors are critical for ensuring the safety of personnel, equipment, and operations in facilities where fire hazards exist. However, selecting the right flame detector—and installing it properly—can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of your fire protection system. In this post, we’ll guide you through key considerations when choosing and installing flame detectors to help improve safety at your facility.

The VC-8000/SETPOINT® monitoring system from Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro) was selected by Williams as a replacement for their legacy machine protection system at several compressor stations. This cost-effective decision was based in part on the advanced machine condition monitoring capability that came with the system, which doesn’t even require a server or license fees.